Drake Maye leads FBS QBs with highest On3 NIL Valuation increases
A common refrain in the NCAA’s NIL era is that an athlete’s play on the field or court will benefit the athlete’s marketability off it. North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye is proof.
Over the course of the 2022 college football season, Maye’s On3 NIL Valuation increased by $847,000 to $922,000.
On3 analyzed the season-long changes in the On3 NIL Valuations for 90 Division I quarterbacks, almost all of whom compete at the FBS level. Each quarterback started his team’s first game of the season.
We compared each quarterback’s On3 NIL Valuation prior to each player’s first game and then after the regular season concluded. Maye, who ranks fourth in the FBS with 3,847 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns, had the greatest increase in On3 NIL Valuation of any quarterback examined.
The On3 NIL Valuation is a proprietary algorithm that calculates the projected annual value of high school and college athletes’ marketability in the NIL landscape. It factors in the role of a player’s roster value to NIL collectives and donors, as well as the value of an athlete’s brand.
You can read more about the On3 NIL Valuation here. There are additional details about the On3 NIL Valuation below.
Here are the 10 first-game starting quarterbacks who experienced the greatest improvements in their On3 NIL Valuation during the season.
1. Drake Maye – North Carolina
On3 NIL Valuation: $922,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $847,000
As a recruit, On3 ranked Maye as the No. 5 quarterback prospect in the 2021 recruiting class and No. 34 recruit nationally. After appearing in four games in 2021, when he attempted just six total passes, he has enjoyed a breakout redshirt freshman season.
Maye has completed 67.7% of his attempts with an 8.7 yards-per-attempt average. He has a 35-to-five touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Maye has nearly 50,000 followers across his social media platforms, including almost 40,000 on Instagram. He is represented by CAA.
The redshirt freshman quarterback recently partnered with TABLE, which is a nonprofit based in Carrboro, North Carolina, where it focuses on delivering healthy food and nutrition education. His previous partnerships include Campus Mogul and Corcoran HM Properties.
2. Hendon Hooker – Tennessee
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.1 million
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $487,000
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker was named a finalist for the Maxwell Award after throwing for 3,135 yards while completing 69.6% of his attempts for 9.5 yards per attempt. He posted a 27-to-two touchdown-to-interception ratio prior to suffering a season-ending ACL injury against South Carolina.
The fifth-year senior, who started his career at Virginia Tech, helped Tennessee reach No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings after an 8-0 start, which featured an upset win over Alabama.
Hooker ranked first in the FBS in yards per attempt, third in passing efficiency rating, sixth in completion percentage, 12th in passing touchdowns and 18th in passing yards.
Hooker has roughly 165,000 total followers across his social media platforms, including more than 115,000 followers on Instagram. He has partnered with AT&T Fiber, Mercedes-Benz of Knoxville, French’s and Gopher Brand Athletes.
3. Michael Penix Jr. – Washington
On3 NIL Valuation: $501,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $434,000
In the offseason, Michael Penix Jr. reunited with Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, who previously coached Penix at Indiana as the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator. Penix has enjoyed a career year, throwing for 4,354 yards and 29 touchdowns, while averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. He leads the country in passing yards, and he’s tied for 10th in passing touchdowns.
Penix has signed with the Washington-focused NIL collective Montlake Futures. He has signed NIL deals with Husky Throwbacks and Simply Seattle.
4. Dorian Thompson-Robinson – UCLA
On3 NIL Valuation: $704,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $395,000
UCLA went 9-3 in the regular season, which marketed the Bruins’ most wins since they went 10-3 in 2014. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-year senior, put up several career-best statistics, such as his 2,883 passing yards, 69.8% completion percentage and 25 passing touchdowns.
He has a massive social media following with more than 760,000 followers across his social media platforms. He has 645,000 followers on TikTok alone.
Thompson-Robinson’s partnerships include Activision, EATnaked.LA, Friends over Fans and The Athletic Collection.
5. Bo Nix – Oregon
On3 NIL Valuation: $808,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $387,000
After transferring from Auburn to Oregon, Bo Nix produced a season that earned him Heisman Trophy consideration. The senior threw for a career-high 3,388 yards and 27 touchdowns, while averaging 8.9 yards per attempt. Nix also rushed for 504 yards and 14 touchdowns after rushing for 18 in his first three seasons combined.
Thanks in large part to having nearly 140,000 Instagram followers, Nix has a total social media following of roughly 175,000 across his platforms.
He has partnered with companies such as Bojangles and Candy Digital.
6. Jordan Travis – Florida State
On3 NIL Valuation: $386,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $279,000
As a fifth-year senior at Florida State, Jordan Travis has had the best season of his career. He has completed a career-high 63.2% of his attempts for 2,796 yards. He has 22 passing touchdowns compared to just four interceptions, while averaging 8.9 yards per attempt.
On the ground, Travis has rushed for 367 yards and seven more touchdowns.
He has roughly 90,000 total social media followers, including 55,000 followers on Instagram.
Travis has signed with the collective Rising Spear. His brand partners include Lucky Jack Coffee, Booster Athletes and CAMPUS.
7. Dillon Gabriel – Oklahoma
On3 NIL Valuation: $414,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $253,000
In Dillon Gabriel‘s first season at Oklahoma, he has completed 63% of his passes for 2,925 yards. Gabriel has posted 24 touchdowns compared to six interceptions, while also rushing for 300 yards and five touchdowns.
The former On3 Consensus three-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 44 quarterback prospect in the 2019 recruiting class has developed into one of the premier quarterbacks in college football.
Gabriel has roughly 100,000 followers across his social media platforms, including roughly 55,000 followers on Instagram and 40,000 on Twitter. He has partnered with Booster Athletes and EvoShield.
8. Jayden Daniels – LSU
On3 NIL Valuation: $482,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $219,000
After starting his career at Arizona State, Jayden Daniels transferred to LSU, where he won the starting quarterback job. He posted a career-high completion percentage of 68.6%, while throwing for 2,566 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Daniels has also had a career-best season as a runner. He has rushed for 824 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He has nearly 90,000 total followers across his social media platforms, including roughly 70,000 on Instagram. Daniels has partnered with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys and The Athletic Collection.
9. Bryce Young – Alabama
On3 NIL Valuation: $3.4 million
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $200,000
Despite entering the season with an already impressive $3.2 million On3 NIL Valuation, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young managed to produce a six-figure increase in the 2022 season. He has the highest On3 NIL Valuation of current college football players and he ranks No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100.
The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner threw for 3,007 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions this season, while averaging 8.4 yards per attempt.
Young has roughly 250,000 followers on Instagram, which plays a role in his high On3 NIL Valuation.
He has partnered with national brands such as Beats by Dre, Dr. Pepper, Dollar Shave Club and Nissan.
10. Stetson Bennett IV – Georgia
On3 NIL Valuation: $862,000
Increase in On3 NIL Valuation: $163,000
Similar to Young, but to a lesser degree, Stetson Bennett IV entered the 2022 college football season with a significant On3 NIL Valuation, thanks to Bennett leading Georgia to the national title. Playing for No. 1 Georgia and chasing a second consecutive national championship, Bennett’s marketability has increased this season.
He has completed a career-high 67% of his passes for 3,151 yards, which also marks the highest total of his career.
Bennett has roughly 125,000 total followers across his social media platforms and he has let his personality shine through several of his NIL deals this season. He has partnered with companies including the Georgia Dairy Alliance, BreakingT, The Players Trunk, Shuman Farms and Synovus Bank.
The On3 NIL Valuation
The On3 NIL Valuation incorporates both an athlete’s brand value and roster value, which incorporate their respective value to third-party sponsorship opportunities and to their team. The latter helps factor in the influence of NIL collectives, which are organizations ranging from marketing agencies to nonprofit organizations that facilitate NIL opportunities.
The algorithm includes data points such as an athlete’s performance, influence and exposure.
While NIL deal data is included in the algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation doesn’t act as a tracker of the value of the NIL deals that an athlete has entered into to date.